A project to develop 22 islands in the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia will add SR22 billion ($5.86 billion) to the Gulf kingdom’s GDP, it has been announced.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman was briefed on the project by a delegation from the Red Sea Development Company, led by chief executive John Pagano at Araqa Palace in Riyadh.
Pagano delivered a visual presentation on the master plan of the Red Sea Project, underlining its economic and development goals and its objective to become a global destination for luxury tourism.
The first phase of the project, scheduled to be completed in 2022, will include an airport, marinas, residential properties, recreational facilities and up to 3,000 hotel rooms.
A total of 22 islands will be developed as part of the project that is expected to create an estimated 70,000 jobs and attract approximately one million tourists per year.
King Salman lauded the delegates for planning a project that will propel Saudi Arabia to a prominent position on the global tourism map, a statement said.
The Red Sea Development Company was registered by he Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment in May as a closed joint-stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The Red Sea project is a luxury and sustainable international tourist destination on the west coast of Saudi Arabia and one of the three major projects of PIF.
The project is located along the western coast of Saudi Arabia, between the cities of al-Wajh and Umluj, 500km north of Jeddah.
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